A ranar 25 ga Maris 1971, wani gagarumin rikici ya barke a Gabashin Pakistan bayan korar nasarar zaben da jam'iyyar Awami League, wata jam'iyyar siyasa ta Gabashin Pakistan ta yi.Wannan taron ya nuna farkon Operation Searchlight, ^[9] wani mummunan yaƙin neman zaɓe na soja da kafa ta yammacin Pakistan don murkushe tashin hankalin siyasa da kishin al'adu a Gabashin Pakistan.^[10] Ta'addancin Sojojin Pakistan ya jagoranci Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, [ ^{[11] []} jagoran Awami League, don ayyana 'yancin kai na Gabashin Pakistan a matsayin Bangladesh a ranar 26 ga Maris 1971. Biharis ya goyi bayan Sojojin Pakistan.Shugaban Pakistan Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan ya umurci sojoji da su sake tabbatar da iko, lamarin da ya haifar da yakin basasa.Wannan rikici ya haifar da mummunar matsalar 'yan gudun hijira, inda kusan mutane miliyan 10 suka tsere zuwa lardunan gabashin Indiya.^[13] A mayar da martani, Indiya ta goyi bayan gwagwarmayar gwagwarmayar Bangladesh, Mukti Bahini.Mukti Bahini, wanda ya ƙunshi sojan Bengali, ma'aikatan agaji, da fararen hula, sun yi yaƙin neman zaɓe a kan sojojin Pakistan, inda suka cimma gagarumar nasara tun farko.Sojojin Pakistan sun sake samun galaba a lokacin damina, amma Mukti Bahini sun mayar da martani da ayyuka kamar Operation Jackpot da ke mayar da hankali kan ruwa da hare-hare ta sama da sojojin saman Bangladesh suka yi.Tashin hankali ya karu zuwa babban rikici lokacin da Pakistan ta kaddamar da hare-hare ta sama a Indiya a ranar 3 ga Disamba 1971, wanda ya kai ga yakin Indo-Pakistan.Rikicin ya ƙare tare da mika wuya Pakistan a Dhaka a ranar 16 ga Disamba 1971, wani lamari mai tarihi a tarihin soja.A tsawon lokacin yakin, Sojojin Pakistan da mayakan sa-kai da suka hada da Razakars, Al-Badr, da Al-Shams, sun aikata ta'asa mai yawa a kan fararen hula na Bengali, dalibai, hazikai, tsirarun addinai, da ma'aikata dauke da makamai.^[14] Waɗannan ayyukan sun haɗa da kisan jama'a, kora, da fyade na kisan kare dangi a matsayin wani ɓangare na kamfen na halakarwa.Rikicin ya haifar da gudun hijira da yawa, inda kimanin mutane miliyan 30 suka rasa matsugunansu da kuma 'yan gudun hijira miliyan 10 suka tsere zuwa Indiya.^[15]Yakin ya sauya fasalin yanayin siyasar Kudancin Asiya, wanda ya kai ga kafa Bangladesh a matsayin kasa ta bakwai mafi yawan al'umma a duniya.Rikicin ya kuma yi tasiri sosai a lokacin yakin cacar baka , wanda ya shafi manyan kasashen duniya kamar Amurka , Tarayyar Soviet , da Jamhuriyar Jama'ar Sin .Kasar Bangladesh ta sami karbuwa a matsayin kasa mai cin gashin kanta da akasarin kasashe mambobin Majalisar Dinkin Duniya a shekarar 1972.